Essential Post-Braces Care: How to Maintain Your Perfect Smile

Dr. Nabil Mockbil

Sep 20, 2024

How hard is it to grow a flower? Planting seeds, providing sunlight, and daily taking care of the plant until it emerges out of the dirt and slowly blossoms into a beautiful wonder. But what if you stop watering it? The flower dies, and your efforts go to waste. Your smile after braces is a flower that requires consistent care to continue blooming.

The journey to a beautifully eternal smile doesn’t end when you take off your braces. It’s true that orthodontic treatments like traditional braces and Invisalign move teeth back into their correct positions and achieve a straight smile worthy of a thousand portraits. However, without proper post-braces care, your smile after braces won’t enjoy the long-term success you desire. They might shift back out of their proper positions and leave you exposed to potential issues such as cavities and gum disease.

Don’t let your smile fade after orthodontic treatment! Learn how to maintain your beautiful results and prevent common dental issues with our expert tips.

Maintain Your Oral Hygiene Routine

Wear Your Retainer

Keep Your Retainers Clean

Adopt a Healthy Diet

Steer Clear of Tobacco

Finally, Smile More With Swedish Dental Clinic

Maintain Your Oral Hygiene Routine

Oral hygiene practices are the cornerstone of maintaining oral health during orthodontic treatments and more so in the post-braces phase. Dental care doesn’t have to be complicated. The simplest advice to keep your new smile bright and healthy is to get into the habit of caring for your teeth! This will help prevent plaque buildup and keep a healthy smile.

Chances are, these practices are things you’re already doing, but the main focus lies on consistency. A proper dental care routine entails the following:

Regular brushing after every meal or at least two times a day, making sure you properly clean hard-to-reach areas with a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.
If brushing isn’t possible at a certain time, rinsing with water helps dislodge any stray food particles.
Flossing every night to remove bacteria and food debris that accumulate throughout the day.
Replacing your worn-out toothbrush every 3-4 months or sooner if you come across illnesses like cold or the flu.
Using antimicrobial and fluoride mouthwashes to help further improve your oral health.

Wear Your Retainer

The orthodontic journey continues post – braces with a handy little device called: retainers. Without them, your teeth will gradually move back to their original position, and you will lose months, if not years, of hard work and progress.

There are two main types of retainers. Removable retainers are the first type. They’re made of wire and plastic or clear plastic. The other type is permanent retainers. They get bonded to the back of the teeth and can’t be removed whenever the patient likes to.

An essential part of post-braces care is wearing your retainers all the time during the first few months after treatment. Then you continue by wearing them at night before sleep for a period of time, often years, to prevent your teeth from shifting back to their original positions.

Keep Your Retainers Clean

Imagine wearing the same shirt all the time for months. Result? At the very least, it’ll become dirty and smell bad. A retainer is often in your mouth at all times, creating the perfect space for bacteria, plaque, and food particles to latch onto your retainer and taint it.

An essential part of taking care of retainers is adopting a daily cleaning routine, preventing what goes around your mouth from causing a bad taste or smell, a cloudy appearance, or white spots.

Adopt a Healthy Diet

So much of your health is connected to your diet. Healthy dietary choices can preserve your body organs and make a huge positive impact. Fresh fruits and vegetables remove tartar buildup, and they are more difficult for bacteria to break down since they don’t contain carbohydrates, fats, oils, and sugars.

In contrast, consuming sugary foods feeds this bacteria, leading to gum disease and tooth decay, while acidic food and drinks can prematurely destroy your tooth’s protective enamel coating. A healthy diet is essential to maintain dental health and a beautiful smile.

Steer Clear of Tobacco

Tobacco is generally dangerous to the entire body, but more specifically, it could contribute massively to the destruction of your oral health. Not only does it give birth to bad breath and stains, but it significantly increases the risk of gum disease and oral cancer. Sometimes, tobacco can be a massive road bump, slowing down your recovery. It can cause slow healing from tooth extraction or other oral surgery and even make correcting some cosmetic dental concerns more difficult.

In general, tobacco use leads to health risks, a yellow and unappealing smile, and a longer recovery time. Whether you’re taking care of your oral health post-braces or not, steering clear of tobacco is a vital step in preserving a healthy mouth and a shiny smile.

Finally, Smile More With Swedish Dental Clinic

Putting your faith in a trusted dental clinic like Swedish Dental Clinic is guaranteed to make post-braces care a seamless process.

With a team of highly skilled orthodontists and dentists, Swedish Dental Clinic is dedicated to helping you maintain the results of your braces while supporting your ongoing dental health. The clinic understands that post-braces care is just as crucial as the treatment itself, which is why we offer personalized care plans tailored to your unique needs.

At Swedish Dental Clinic, follow-up care extends beyond regular check-ups. You can expect thorough evaluations that assess the alignment of teeth and the overall health of your gums and jawbone. The orthodontists will guide you through any necessary adjustments and provide valuable insights on optimal home care routines, ensuring your smile remains as stunning as it was on the day your braces came off.